Like many of us, I hate to pay others, for things I can do. But to remove the keel from my Macgregor 21 was not something I took lightly. I did this last summer but just got around to finally posting how I did it with picture descriptions. I wanted to describe how to, for anyone to do it safely and not get hurt. This may not be the best way or cheapest, but doable if you have some skills and tools. I also did not want to post it on a free photo website, where the pictures eventually might go away. On my blog, they will be there for a long time. If you have questions or comments please let me know and follow the link below to see how I went about to remove the keel. I also replaced the keep bolt, and put on a new winch.

Thanks. It’s a 1984 Macgregor. Again did it so that other sailors can do this safely. It’s a lot of weight to be hurt with boat and keel weight. Besides Macs it applies to all sailboats with swing keels

I did lots of prep before applying POR15. I used paint remover first to remove all the old paint the used a grinder to flare it. Then used the three POR15 steps to to apply my paint. Flaring was done to ensure my keel is smooth

luis_sailing wrote:I did lots of prep before applying POR15. I used paint remover first to remove all the old paint the used a grinder to flare it. Then used the three POR15 steps to to apply my paint. Flaring was done to ensure my keel is smooth

Your keel looks great! I've removed the swing keel from my Mac 25 Venture. I've been using an air chisels to remove most of the old finish and flaking rust. Did you use all three steps for POR-15? After I finish with the POR-15 I plan on using TotalBoat Polyester Structural Repair Putty to reshape the keel as needed then finally put gel coat on it. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I bought my PO15 on Amazon and I did use the three steps. But before using the three steps I used paint remover to strip off the old paint. I did not have huge rust issues, but I did take a metal grinder to it until it was smooth. At this point I followed the three POR15 steps. So far it has held up with one year since I did it. I would do it again if I had to,but make sure you use all protective precautions including face and dust masks when doing this. You will stir up all kinds of unknowns in old paint and metal.